Cycling/Exercise after Viral Infection
Lossie Loon
Posts: 65
Not sure if this is the right area or not...
I'm just coming out of a bout of glandular fever - the acute symptoms seem to have pretty much gone now. All things considered it was a mild infection - it came as a total surprise to hear that my blood test results indicated glandular fever (but still a relatively pleasant surprise given I have not long returned from three weeks in sub-tropical Africa, so was fearing something worse) as I didn't even have visibly swollen glands, just recurring fevers, headaches and hepatitis (all of which was unpleasant enough).
Since the middle of the week I have felt a lot better after three weeks of bad symptoms, but still get long bouts of fatigue where I feel shattered and even my 20 minute walk into work can be very tiring. I resumed some swimming towards the end of the week and managed 5 x 1 mile sessions over three days, although noticably slower than normal.
Now the weekend is here I am resting up again as I don't feel that I am ready to get back on the road bike. I know recovery after viral illnesses is very much individual depending on the person and the severity of infection, but are there general guidelines to follow? I don't want to overdo it on the road bike and push back my recovery, nor do I want to not do anything for weeks and watch as my fitness slips away. Is it therefore best just to do some short, non-intensive rides over the next few weeks to keep my legs spinning without pushing myself?
I'm just coming out of a bout of glandular fever - the acute symptoms seem to have pretty much gone now. All things considered it was a mild infection - it came as a total surprise to hear that my blood test results indicated glandular fever (but still a relatively pleasant surprise given I have not long returned from three weeks in sub-tropical Africa, so was fearing something worse) as I didn't even have visibly swollen glands, just recurring fevers, headaches and hepatitis (all of which was unpleasant enough).
Since the middle of the week I have felt a lot better after three weeks of bad symptoms, but still get long bouts of fatigue where I feel shattered and even my 20 minute walk into work can be very tiring. I resumed some swimming towards the end of the week and managed 5 x 1 mile sessions over three days, although noticably slower than normal.
Now the weekend is here I am resting up again as I don't feel that I am ready to get back on the road bike. I know recovery after viral illnesses is very much individual depending on the person and the severity of infection, but are there general guidelines to follow? I don't want to overdo it on the road bike and push back my recovery, nor do I want to not do anything for weeks and watch as my fitness slips away. Is it therefore best just to do some short, non-intensive rides over the next few weeks to keep my legs spinning without pushing myself?
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Comments
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Having been through a pretty similar sounding bout of glandular fever 6 years ago, the advice I'd give is to ensure that you take it steady as you recover. Glandular Fever, unfortunately, can leave behind varying extremes of post viral fatigue and it took me a good number of months before I felt completely well again. Along the way I would have bouts of quite extreme fatigue that would mean I'd have to lie down to it. I wasn't cycling at the time so can't really comment on the impact cyling could have, however I'd imagine that some gentle outings on the bike would be an ideal way to ease back into exercising.
My major warning would be to ensure you don't push yourself so far that you 'burst'. You need to listen to your body so that when you have finished some gentle exercise you feel better for it, you don't want to set your recovery back by doing to much. Patience is the key and don't let it get you down, you'll get back to full fitness before long.
All the best with it.0 -
Cheers. Despite feeling generally 'ok' today I won't chance anything and see how the week ahead goes. If things are ok during the week I will adopt the strategy of it being like when I started cycling again and slowly work myself up to being comfortable with longer rides again. So I'll just settle for a 20km circuit or two next weekend if I feel able enough as each one of those wouldn't be overly different to a 1 mile swim in terms of effort, and I am coping ok with those.
I've heard/read the warnings about pushing yourself too hard coming out of a viral infection and the damage it can do to your overall recovery time, so am mindful of that.0
